UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FARMINGTON COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, HEALTH AND REHABILITATION
Teacher’s Name: Russell Warren Lesson #: 1 Facet: Self-Knowledge
Grade Level: 9&10 Numbers of Days: 2 days
Topic: Themes, Color, and The World + The Great Gatsby
PART I:
Objectives
Students will understand that recurring themes are included to not only instill an idea, but give insight to our and the author's world.
Students will know what formed Fitzgerald's novel and theory on the 'American Dream'.
Students will be able to relate the themes of the novel to their own world.
Product: Blogger
Maine Learning Results (MLR) or Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Alignment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: 9 & 10
Domain: Reading - Literature
Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Standard #7: Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment.
Rationale: This first lesson will give the students some of the background information they need to understand the novel and why it may be represented in certain ways. The viewing of the major film version of The Great Gatsby will introduce the students to the world of film analysis.
Assessments
Pre-Assessment: (Lesson 1 only)
- Survey on color: What is your favorite color? What does it mean to you? What can it mean to others?
- Quick class discussion on the Roaring Twenties (clothes, lifestyle, economy, etc.).
Formative (Assessment for Learning)
Section I – checking for understanding during instruction
Part of their blog assignments will include Quick Write prompts where the students will think back on their knowledge and express any confusion or insights.
Section II – timely feedback for products (self, peer, teacher)
- Students will fill out a cumulative checklist where they will evaluate all their blog posts for content, clarity, and comprehension.
- Teacher will provide weekly feedback on the blog posts.
Summative (Assessment of Learning):
Blog: Your continually updated blog will contain various Quick Write assignments and prompts relating to the learning done in the classroom. Not only will you be responding to the work and completing quick assignments, but you will also use the blog as an outlet for your opinions, questions, and general feelings towards the content and your learning. They will be graded on completion and enthusiasm, not on what is 'right' or 'wrong', as all your opinions are justifiable. (25/150)
Integration
Technology:
The blogger is based online using the blogger.com website, or whatever blogging site the students are most comfortable with. They will also have the opportunity to embed videos they find interesting or hyperlinking an important online resource.
Content Areas:
English: The blogger will be continually checked for proper syntax, grammar, and sentence structure. The students will also be directly relating the information learned in the classroom to their daily experiences, showing application and understanding of the material.
Social Studies: Many of the assignments will be relating the students' modern world to that of the American Twenties.
Groupings
Section I - Graphic Organizer & Cooperative Learning used during instruction
Using the KWL chart the students will express their knowledge after reading through the novel, and what their basic understanding of the plot is.
The Circle The Sage activity will have exceptional students aid the other students in the discussion of the important themes of the novel.
Section II – Groups and Roles for Product
Throughout every lesson they will use a Blog to discuss and understand the themes of the novel, and relate them to their modern and/or personal world. While this will be a personal project, there will be class and group discussions to explain the various assignments. They will also comment on other student's blogs.
Differentiated Instruction
MI Strategies
Verbal: The entire lesson makes way for class discussion, from Circle the Sage to seminars, and the students will also write in their blogs.
Logic: Circle the Sage will allow all students to think analytically about the themes of The Great Gatsby and build and cement their understandings of the themes.
Visual: We'll look closely at scenes in the 1974 film representation of The Great Gatsby.
Musical: Part of the pre-assessment includes looking at the music (jazz, blues, etc.) of the Roaring Twenties.
Kinesthetic: Circle the Sage will be a physical activity, students expressering their concerns by moving to a specific area in the class. They will also use post-its to write down their opinions and questions.
Intrapersonal: The blog will allow the students to privately investigate the lessons and their thoughts to come to personal conclusions.
Interpersonal: The class will constantly incorporate discussions and seminar qualities.
Naturalist: Part of the lesson will be looking how the geography of the novel - NYC, the Eggs, the Ash Heaps - influences the themes.
Modifications/Accommodations
From IEP’s ( Individual Education Plan), 504’s, ELLIDEP (English Language Learning Instructional Delivery Education Plan) I will review student’s IEP, 504 or ELLIDEP and make appropriate modifications and accommodations.
Plan for accommodating absent students:
As this lesson is about understanding the student's knowledge of the subject and forming a basis for the knowledge that will be the cornerstones of the unit, I will upload all worksheets on the class blog and ask a student that was in class to share their work with the absent student, and urge the students to meet with me / form an email correspondence. In my blog posts will be a review of what occurred in class and links to all videos, etc. we viewed, along with an explanation of their importance. They will also have to finish the same Quick Write blog post as the other students, just on a later deadline.
Extensions
Type II technology:
The blogger is based online using the blogger.com website, or whatever blogging site the students are most comfortable with. This digital record allows the students to look back on their work and revise, and also view other students' blog posts and collaborate on the internet by commenting.
Gifted Students:
After assessing the students in the first class with a survey on the The Great Gatsby and the topics we will be diving into, I will analyze the responses and chose the students who are either labelled gifted by the school or portray the best understanding of the material. Circle The Sage will allow the students to attack a specific theme from the novel and aid the other students in their acquisition of the scaffolding knowledge.
Teaching and Learning Sequence (Describe the teaching and learning process using all of the information from part I of the lesson plan) Take all the components and synthesize into a script of what you are doing as the teacher and what the learners are doing throughout the lesson. Need to use all the WHERETO’s. (3-5 pages)
Room Arrangement: The desks will be grouped together to make four stations.
Day One: Introducing the Unit (80 minutes)
Hook: View opening scenes of The Great Gatsby (10)
Opener: Wrap-up finishing the novel - this will be a quick seminar where students will pose their questions and insights and our discussion will be enriching (10)
First Activity: KWL Chart - students will each have to fill this out on their own, but can converse with other students (20)
Second Activity: Survey on color - quick pre-assessment to asess the students' understanding of the relation between theme and color (15)
Quick Discussion: Introduce the unit and syllabus (10)
Third Activity: Introduce the blog - As a class we will log on to blogger.com and each student will create their own blog, with a unique screen name and template. They will be instructed on how to write, edit, post, and tag their blog posts (15)
Assignment: Quick Write blog post - Try relating something from the novel - a theme, character, event - to your life. Also list questions, complaints, or any other thoughts you have about the novel and the upcoming unit (5)
Day Two: Discussing Theme (80 minutes)
Hook: View additional scenes of The Great Gatsby (20)
Opener: Blog synthesis - The teacher, after viewing the blogs, will lead a class discussion on any common points throughout the blogs, paying special attention to highlighting words specific students said (20)
First Activity: Circle the Sage activity - Assessing the blog posts, KWL charts, and surveys, the teacher will select four students with an exceptional understanding of the material to lead the Circle the Sage activity. More information in paragraph 2 (30)
Assignment: Quick Write blog post - Can you think of how color was used in The Great Gatsby to say something important, without using words? Describe this example and what Fitzgerald was trying to say. Also list questions, complaints, or any other thoughts you have about the novel and the upcoming unit (10)
Students understand that recurring themes are included to not only instill an idea, but give insight to our and the author's world. The first lesson is included as an introduction to the unit. Students will sit in four groups which can be chosen at their discretion. Students will begin to understand what the themes of the novel are and how they can be used in conjunction with our daily, modern lives. It's important to grow and learn from morals and themes within novels, because there is a reason the author wrote about them. Much of the discussion will be connecting the past to the present and the themes to our lives, paying special attention to the students' separate and unique interpretations of the novel. I will use the completion of a quick survey along with a Quick Write blog post to assess the students' understanding of theme and color.
Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment. The hooks will be a viewing and analysis of scenes in The Great Gatsby film, with the teacher acting out the analysis so the students get an introduction to analysis and representation.
Questions for students to consider:
What is different between the novel and film? Note specific scenes, characters, images, etc.
What colors seem to be important in the film? in the novel? Be able to explain your answer.
Students will know what formed Fitzgerald's novel and theory on the 'American Dream' (See content notes). During each day the students will investigate the themes of the novel and try to understand what they mean and how they relate to the real world. The first day will have the students filling out a KWL chart, listing what their perceptions are after reading the novel and what they want to investigate. They will also list what they believe the major themes of the novel to be. After I read over their charts and Quick Write responses, I will implement a Circle the Sage activity on Day Two. The Circle The Sage activity will have four exceptional students - ones who either have a thorough understanding of the novel or an intelligent grasp on a theme - aid the other students in the discussion of the important themes of the novel. The four students will be assigned with one of four themes and colors: Green and hope, Gold and wealth, Yellow and artificiality, and Gray and loss/decay. The other students will move from each station and they will discuss the themes, and the students will use post-its to write down questions, comments, and insights. Their blog assignment for Day Two will include a Quick Write prompt where the students will think back on their knowledge and express any confusion or insights. At the end of the unit students will fill out a cumulative checklist where they will evaluate all their blog posts for content, clarity, and comprehension, and the teacher will provide feedback through comments and synthesis during class.
Students will be able to relate the themes of the novel to their own world through the creation of a blog. The students will continually update these blogs throughout the entire unit, and each class will include a synthesis where the teacher will respond to the students' thoughts and questions and compose a class discussion on the posts. Day One will include a workshop where the teacher will present the students with how to create, personalize, and utilize a blog on blogger. Every post will include a journal-type response where students will write anything they'd like relating to the class and subject material. Some classes will utilize a Quick Write prompt where they will respond to questions delineated by the teacher (- What is different between the novel and film? Note specific scenes, characters, images, etc. - What colors seem to be important in the film? in the novel? Be able to explain your answer), and they will follow a checklist as a guide to make sure they have all the essentials referenced and finished.
Part of their blog assignments will include a Quick Write prompt where the students will think back on their knowledge and express any confusion or insights by responding to content questions. Students will have the assignment to read other students' blogs and respond to them as a peer review. They will also fill out a cumulative checklist at the end of the unit where they will evaluate all their blog posts for content, clarity, and comprehension. Finally, the teacher will provide constant comments and responses to the students' blog posts and present quick syntheses at the beginning of each class.
Evaluate, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Interpersonal
Content Notes
Students will know…..
By the time this unit begins, the students will have already finished reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. Their grasp on the plot of the novel, the main events, and the characters should be solid. However, they have little understanding of symbolism in the novel, specifically relating to color. They also have not viewed a separate interpretation of the content, like through a film or comic strip. For this first lesson, will we wrap up the actual novel and delve into the history of the formation of the content, the reason color plays such an important role in the content, and how different representations change the meaning of the content.
The main content area of the unit and the basis for all of the discussion and knowledge comes from F. Scott Fitzgerald's influential novel The Great Gatsby, written in 1922. In a very condensed synopsis, the plot is shown through the eyes of Nick Carraway, a young man who grew up in the Midwest who is thrown into the gaudy and vivacious lives of extremely rich East Coasters. Living in the fashionable town of West Egg, just outside of New York City, Nick befriends a woman named Daisy Buchanan, a woman of flighty passion, and her husband Tom Buchanan, a man of strength and anger. Throughout this time, Nick constantly hears of a man named Jay Gatsby, a god amongst men who "had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life," and was fabulously wealthy. As the novel progresses, Nick, as well as the readers, discover that all of Gatsby's wealth was gained as a facade, so that Daisy would leave Tom and fall in love with Jay. Throughout the novel, color is used to represent very specific and important themes throughout the novel, most importantly green/hope, gold/wealth, yellow/fallacy, and grey/death.
On Day One, the class will begin viewing the first scenes of the 1974 Farrow/Redford. Afterwards, the class will have a discussion relating the film to the novel, and duscussing any consfusions or questions about the content. Then, students will work on a color survey as well as a KWL chart. The first will assess the student's knowledge of how color relates to theme, asking them questions like: What is your favorite color? What does it mean to you? What can it mean to others? What colors are important in the novel? The KWL chart is a simple tool for students to write out their knowledge of the novel and content, and to express opinions and interests. After I gather these papers, we will delve into a discussion of the unit. I will introduce the main ideas (refer to Objectives) and give a basic discussion of the time period, called the Roaring Twenties: the laws and lawbreaking, the daily life of the average American, Prohibition, dance crazes, music, etc. I'll then introduce the blog and explain exactly how to blog: how to write, edit, submit, link, embed, tab. I will also discuss the format of Quick Writes, and how each assignment will require students to fully respond to the questions and explain their thoughts and reasoning.
Day Two will focus mostly on the Circle the Sage activity. The beginning will have a synthesis of all the students' first blog posts - the teacher will discuss specific and shared points of confusion or insight, and highlight certain student's revolutionary ideas or constructive questions. Afterwards, the students will attack the Circle the Sage activity, where four exceptional students - ones who either have a thorough understanding of the novel or an intelligent grasp on a theme - aid the other students in the discussion of the important themes of the novel. The four students will be assigned with one of four themes and colors: Green and hope, Gold and wealth, Yellow and artificiality, and Gray and loss/decay. The other students will move from each station and they will discuss the themes, and the students will use post-its to write down questions, comments, and insights. At the end of the class students will be have class time to work on their second blog posts, and I will introduce the topic of commenting on other student's blogs. The will be required to provide constructive feedback on at least three other students' blogs.
Handouts
KWL Chart
Blog checklists
Maine Common Core Teaching Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale
Standard 1 – Learner Development. The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
Learning Styles
Clipboard: Students will utilize two separate worksheets that require planned organization, comparing and contrasting and relating information. This requires detailed, rational responses and clear, coherent wording to convey meaning.
Microscope: Students will be assigned to think critically through their organizers. They will be required to analyze the scenes of the film and relate them to the book.
Puppy: Throughout class discussion, students' feelings and opinions will be supported and the room will foster positivity and creativity. The blog synthesis will address specific students and praise them, give constructive criticism, or answer questions, all on a personal basis.
Beach Ball: No one activity will last longer than thirty minutes, and a few involve physically moving around the room, so the students will always be engaged.
Rationale: This first lessons is about wrapping up past knowledge and moving on to a more specific topic. The students will be assigned work that requires deep, analytical thinking and logical organization, but there will also be plenty of rewarding class discussions. Students will be able to share their thoughts and opinions, and they will be accepted and discussed in a comfortable setting.
Standard 6 - Assessment. The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their on growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher's and learner's decision making.
Formative: Students will fill out a KWL chart and a survey so I can assess their grasp of the subject material. The blog posts will be focused on the student responding to their experiences in class, and I will look for areas lacking understanding and specific stressors. Students will also fill out a self-assessing checklist, and the teacher will constantly comment and synthesize the students' blog posts.
Summative: At the end of the unit, the blog posts will be graded for comprehension, clarity, and completion. As all students' opinions are justifiable, they will not be graded for 'correctness', but their explanation of their thoughts and progress. The Quick Write portions will allow the teacher to grade some of the blog entries in a more objective manner, paying attention to factuality.
Rationale: The KWL charts and surveys and blog post will allow the teacher to assess the students understanding and comprehension of the novel after reading it, and will also provide a context of previous knowledge of color, theme, and representation for lessons later in the unit. The teacher can then edit assignments and classes to the students' general and specific knowledge bases. The blog posts, as a summative assessment, will allow the teacher to grade for growing content comprehension, linguistic and writing skills, and enhanced application of the subject matter.
Standard 7 - Planning Instruction. The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Content Knowledge:
(See Content Notes)
MLR or CCSS: Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: 9 & 10
Domain: Reading - Literature
Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Facet: Students will be able to relate the themes of the novel to their own world.
Standard 8 - Instructional Strategies. The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
MI Strategies:
Verbal: The entire lesson makes way for class discussion, from Circle the Sage to seminars, and the students will also write in their blogs.
Logic: Circle the Sage will allow all students to think analytically about the themes of The Great Gatsby and build and cement their understandings of the themes.
Visual: We'll look closely at scenes in the 1974 film representation of The Great Gatsby.
Musical: Part of the pre-assessment includes looking at the music (jazz, blues, etc.) of the Roaring Twenties.
Kinesthetic: Circle the Sage will be a physical activity, students expressing their concerns by moving to a specific area in the class. They will also use post-its to write down their opinions and questions.
Intrapersonal: The blog will allow the students to privately investigate the lessons and their thoughts to come to personal conclusions.
Interpersonal: The class will constantly incorporate discussions and seminar qualities.
Naturalist: Part of the lesson will be looking how the geography of the novel - NYC, the Eggs, the Ash Heaps - influences the themes.
Type II Technology:
blogger.com
Rationale: Every student needs to be accounted for, and this lesson and unit is no exception. All students and their many intelligences will be accounted for, with students having the constant choice to present the information in their blogs in any format they wish.
NETS STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS
1. Facilitates and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.
a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments
Rationale: The entire lesson will require students to think abstractly on the material and understand the content. The best way to do this is through fun. Students will have the opportunity to create their own unique representations information they learned by responding to Quick Writes, and have the ability to write any comments or concerns they have. Student interaction will also be fostered, students having the ability to work with others to discuss ideas and come to conclusions.
2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS-S.
a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
Rationale: The lesson will utilize the online service Blogger to enhance their learning and incorporate the internet into the content. Students will be expected, as the teacher is as well, to comment on other students’ blogs, respond to comments on their own blogs, and create a dialogue between their blogs.
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FARMINGTON
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, HEALTH AND REHABILITATION
Teacher’s Name: Russell Warren Lesson #: 1 Facet: Self-Knowledge
Grade Level: 9&10 Numbers of Days: 2 days
Topic: Themes, Color, and The World + The Great Gatsby
PART I:
Objectives
Students will understand that recurring themes are included to not only instill an idea, but give insight to our and the author's world.
Students will know what formed Fitzgerald's novel and theory on the 'American Dream'.
Students will be able to relate the themes of the novel to their own world.
Product: Blogger
Maine Learning Results (MLR) or Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Alignment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: 9 & 10
Domain: Reading - Literature
Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Standard #7: Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment.
Rationale: This first lesson will give the students some of the background information they need to understand the novel and why it may be represented in certain ways. The viewing of the major film version of The Great Gatsby will introduce the students to the world of film analysis.
Assessments
Pre-Assessment: (Lesson 1 only)
- Survey on color: What is your favorite color? What does it mean to you? What can it mean to others?
- Quick class discussion on the Roaring Twenties (clothes, lifestyle, economy, etc.).
Formative (Assessment for Learning)
Section I – checking for understanding during instruction
Part of their blog assignments will include Quick Write prompts where the students will think back on their knowledge and express any confusion or insights.
Section II – timely feedback for products (self, peer, teacher)
- Students will fill out a cumulative checklist where they will evaluate all their blog posts for content, clarity, and comprehension.
- Teacher will provide weekly feedback on the blog posts.
Summative (Assessment of Learning):
Blog: Your continually updated blog will contain various Quick Write assignments and prompts relating to the learning done in the classroom. Not only will you be responding to the work and completing quick assignments, but you will also use the blog as an outlet for your opinions, questions, and general feelings towards the content and your learning. They will be graded on completion and enthusiasm, not on what is 'right' or 'wrong', as all your opinions are justifiable. (25/150)
Integration
Technology:
The blogger is based online using the blogger.com website, or whatever blogging site the students are most comfortable with. They will also have the opportunity to embed videos they find interesting or hyperlinking an important online resource.
Content Areas:
English: The blogger will be continually checked for proper syntax, grammar, and sentence structure. The students will also be directly relating the information learned in the classroom to their daily experiences, showing application and understanding of the material.
Social Studies: Many of the assignments will be relating the students' modern world to that of the American Twenties.
Groupings
Section I - Graphic Organizer & Cooperative Learning used during instruction
Using the KWL chart the students will express their knowledge after reading through the novel, and what their basic understanding of the plot is.
The Circle The Sage activity will have exceptional students aid the other students in the discussion of the important themes of the novel.
Section II – Groups and Roles for Product
Throughout every lesson they will use a Blog to discuss and understand the themes of the novel, and relate them to their modern and/or personal world. While this will be a personal project, there will be class and group discussions to explain the various assignments. They will also comment on other student's blogs.
Differentiated Instruction
MI Strategies
Verbal: The entire lesson makes way for class discussion, from Circle the Sage to seminars, and the students will also write in their blogs.
Logic: Circle the Sage will allow all students to think analytically about the themes of The Great Gatsby and build and cement their understandings of the themes.
Visual: We'll look closely at scenes in the 1974 film representation of The Great Gatsby.
Musical: Part of the pre-assessment includes looking at the music (jazz, blues, etc.) of the Roaring Twenties.
Kinesthetic: Circle the Sage will be a physical activity, students expressering their concerns by moving to a specific area in the class. They will also use post-its to write down their opinions and questions.
Intrapersonal: The blog will allow the students to privately investigate the lessons and their thoughts to come to personal conclusions.
Interpersonal: The class will constantly incorporate discussions and seminar qualities.
Naturalist: Part of the lesson will be looking how the geography of the novel - NYC, the Eggs, the Ash Heaps - influences the themes.
Modifications/Accommodations
From IEP’s ( Individual Education Plan), 504’s, ELLIDEP (English Language Learning Instructional Delivery Education Plan) I will review student’s IEP, 504 or ELLIDEP and make appropriate modifications and accommodations.
Plan for accommodating absent students:
As this lesson is about understanding the student's knowledge of the subject and forming a basis for the knowledge that will be the cornerstones of the unit, I will upload all worksheets on the class blog and ask a student that was in class to share their work with the absent student, and urge the students to meet with me / form an email correspondence. In my blog posts will be a review of what occurred in class and links to all videos, etc. we viewed, along with an explanation of their importance. They will also have to finish the same Quick Write blog post as the other students, just on a later deadline.
Extensions
Type II technology:
The blogger is based online using the blogger.com website, or whatever blogging site the students are most comfortable with. This digital record allows the students to look back on their work and revise, and also view other students' blog posts and collaborate on the internet by commenting.
Gifted Students:
After assessing the students in the first class with a survey on the The Great Gatsby and the topics we will be diving into, I will analyze the responses and chose the students who are either labelled gifted by the school or portray the best understanding of the material. Circle The Sage will allow the students to attack a specific theme from the novel and aid the other students in their acquisition of the scaffolding knowledge.
Materials, Resources and Technology
Literature copies of The Great Gatsby
DVD copy of The Great Gatsby
Laptops
Projector
Speakers
KWL organizer
Prompt worksheets
Post-it notes
Source for Lesson Plan and Research
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/kwl.pdf - KWL Chart
http://blogger.com/ - Blogger
http://w4.nkcsd.k12.mo.us/~kcofer/social_cooperative_structures.htm - Circle The Sage
http://quizlet.com/ - Survey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2jh6XkjrHU - The Great Gatsby 1949
http://www.youtube.com/movie/the-great-gatsby-1974 - The Great Gatsby 1974
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNAOHtmy4j0 - 'Dance Craze' Roaring Twenties
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=684n8FO68LU - To Live in 20s
http://www.1920-30.com/ - Snapshot of the 20s
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/themes.html - Themes, Motifs, and Symbols in the novel
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/educator/modules/teachingthetwenties/ - Teaching the Twenties
http://prohibition.osu.edu/ - Prohibition
PART II:
Teaching and Learning Sequence (Describe the teaching and learning process using all of the information from part I of the lesson plan) Take all the components and synthesize into a script of what you are doing as the teacher and what the learners are doing throughout the lesson. Need to use all the WHERETO’s. (3-5 pages)
Room Arrangement: The desks will be grouped together to make four stations.
Day One: Introducing the Unit (80 minutes)
Day Two: Discussing Theme (80 minutes)
Students understand that recurring themes are included to not only instill an idea, but give insight to our and the author's world. The first lesson is included as an introduction to the unit. Students will sit in four groups which can be chosen at their discretion. Students will begin to understand what the themes of the novel are and how they can be used in conjunction with our daily, modern lives. It's important to grow and learn from morals and themes within novels, because there is a reason the author wrote about them. Much of the discussion will be connecting the past to the present and the themes to our lives, paying special attention to the students' separate and unique interpretations of the novel. I will use the completion of a quick survey along with a Quick Write blog post to assess the students' understanding of theme and color.
Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment. The hooks will be a viewing and analysis of scenes in The Great Gatsby film, with the teacher acting out the analysis so the students get an introduction to analysis and representation.
Questions for students to consider:
- What is different between the novel and film? Note specific scenes, characters, images, etc.
- What colors seem to be important in the film? in the novel? Be able to explain your answer.
Where, Why, What, Hook, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Visual, Musical, Intrapersonal, InterpersonalStudents will know what formed Fitzgerald's novel and theory on the 'American Dream' (See content notes). During each day the students will investigate the themes of the novel and try to understand what they mean and how they relate to the real world. The first day will have the students filling out a KWL chart, listing what their perceptions are after reading the novel and what they want to investigate. They will also list what they believe the major themes of the novel to be. After I read over their charts and Quick Write responses, I will implement a Circle the Sage activity on Day Two. The Circle The Sage activity will have four exceptional students - ones who either have a thorough understanding of the novel or an intelligent grasp on a theme - aid the other students in the discussion of the important themes of the novel. The four students will be assigned with one of four themes and colors: Green and hope, Gold and wealth, Yellow and artificiality, and Gray and loss/decay. The other students will move from each station and they will discuss the themes, and the students will use post-its to write down questions, comments, and insights. Their blog assignment for Day Two will include a Quick Write prompt where the students will think back on their knowledge and express any confusion or insights. At the end of the unit students will fill out a cumulative checklist where they will evaluate all their blog posts for content, clarity, and comprehension, and the teacher will provide feedback through comments and synthesis during class.
Equip, Explore, Rethink, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Visual, Kinesthetic, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Naturalist
Students will be able to relate the themes of the novel to their own world through the creation of a blog. The students will continually update these blogs throughout the entire unit, and each class will include a synthesis where the teacher will respond to the students' thoughts and questions and compose a class discussion on the posts. Day One will include a workshop where the teacher will present the students with how to create, personalize, and utilize a blog on blogger. Every post will include a journal-type response where students will write anything they'd like relating to the class and subject material. Some classes will utilize a Quick Write prompt where they will respond to questions delineated by the teacher (- What is different between the novel and film? Note specific scenes, characters, images, etc. - What colors seem to be important in the film? in the novel? Be able to explain your answer), and they will follow a checklist as a guide to make sure they have all the essentials referenced and finished.
Explore, Experience, Rethink, Revise, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Intrapersonal
Part of their blog assignments will include a Quick Write prompt where the students will think back on their knowledge and express any confusion or insights by responding to content questions. Students will have the assignment to read other students' blogs and respond to them as a peer review. They will also fill out a cumulative checklist at the end of the unit where they will evaluate all their blog posts for content, clarity, and comprehension. Finally, the teacher will provide constant comments and responses to the students' blog posts and present quick syntheses at the beginning of each class.
Evaluate, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Interpersonal
Content Notes
Students will know…..
By the time this unit begins, the students will have already finished reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. Their grasp on the plot of the novel, the main events, and the characters should be solid. However, they have little understanding of symbolism in the novel, specifically relating to color. They also have not viewed a separate interpretation of the content, like through a film or comic strip. For this first lesson, will we wrap up the actual novel and delve into the history of the formation of the content, the reason color plays such an important role in the content, and how different representations change the meaning of the content.
The main content area of the unit and the basis for all of the discussion and knowledge comes from F. Scott Fitzgerald's influential novel The Great Gatsby, written in 1922. In a very condensed synopsis, the plot is shown through the eyes of Nick Carraway, a young man who grew up in the Midwest who is thrown into the gaudy and vivacious lives of extremely rich East Coasters. Living in the fashionable town of West Egg, just outside of New York City, Nick befriends a woman named Daisy Buchanan, a woman of flighty passion, and her husband Tom Buchanan, a man of strength and anger. Throughout this time, Nick constantly hears of a man named Jay Gatsby, a god amongst men who "had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life," and was fabulously wealthy. As the novel progresses, Nick, as well as the readers, discover that all of Gatsby's wealth was gained as a facade, so that Daisy would leave Tom and fall in love with Jay. Throughout the novel, color is used to represent very specific and important themes throughout the novel, most importantly green/hope, gold/wealth, yellow/fallacy, and grey/death.
On Day One, the class will begin viewing the first scenes of the 1974 Farrow/Redford. Afterwards, the class will have a discussion relating the film to the novel, and duscussing any consfusions or questions about the content. Then, students will work on a color survey as well as a KWL chart. The first will assess the student's knowledge of how color relates to theme, asking them questions like: What is your favorite color? What does it mean to you? What can it mean to others? What colors are important in the novel? The KWL chart is a simple tool for students to write out their knowledge of the novel and content, and to express opinions and interests. After I gather these papers, we will delve into a discussion of the unit. I will introduce the main ideas (refer to Objectives) and give a basic discussion of the time period, called the Roaring Twenties: the laws and lawbreaking, the daily life of the average American, Prohibition, dance crazes, music, etc. I'll then introduce the blog and explain exactly how to blog: how to write, edit, submit, link, embed, tab. I will also discuss the format of Quick Writes, and how each assignment will require students to fully respond to the questions and explain their thoughts and reasoning.
Day Two will focus mostly on the Circle the Sage activity. The beginning will have a synthesis of all the students' first blog posts - the teacher will discuss specific and shared points of confusion or insight, and highlight certain student's revolutionary ideas or constructive questions. Afterwards, the students will attack the Circle the Sage activity, where four exceptional students - ones who either have a thorough understanding of the novel or an intelligent grasp on a theme - aid the other students in the discussion of the important themes of the novel. The four students will be assigned with one of four themes and colors: Green and hope, Gold and wealth, Yellow and artificiality, and Gray and loss/decay. The other students will move from each station and they will discuss the themes, and the students will use post-its to write down questions, comments, and insights. At the end of the class students will be have class time to work on their second blog posts, and I will introduce the topic of commenting on other student's blogs. The will be required to provide constructive feedback on at least three other students' blogs.
Handouts
KWL Chart
Blog checklists
Maine Common Core Teaching Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale
Standard 1 – Learner Development. The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
Learning Styles
Clipboard: Students will utilize two separate worksheets that require planned organization, comparing and contrasting and relating information. This requires detailed, rational responses and clear, coherent wording to convey meaning.
Microscope: Students will be assigned to think critically through their organizers. They will be required to analyze the scenes of the film and relate them to the book.
Puppy: Throughout class discussion, students' feelings and opinions will be supported and the room will foster positivity and creativity. The blog synthesis will address specific students and praise them, give constructive criticism, or answer questions, all on a personal basis.
Beach Ball: No one activity will last longer than thirty minutes, and a few involve physically moving around the room, so the students will always be engaged.
Rationale: This first lessons is about wrapping up past knowledge and moving on to a more specific topic. The students will be assigned work that requires deep, analytical thinking and logical organization, but there will also be plenty of rewarding class discussions. Students will be able to share their thoughts and opinions, and they will be accepted and discussed in a comfortable setting.
Standard 6 - Assessment. The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their on growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher's and learner's decision making.
Formative: Students will fill out a KWL chart and a survey so I can assess their grasp of the subject material. The blog posts will be focused on the student responding to their experiences in class, and I will look for areas lacking understanding and specific stressors. Students will also fill out a self-assessing checklist, and the teacher will constantly comment and synthesize the students' blog posts.
Summative: At the end of the unit, the blog posts will be graded for comprehension, clarity, and completion. As all students' opinions are justifiable, they will not be graded for 'correctness', but their explanation of their thoughts and progress. The Quick Write portions will allow the teacher to grade some of the blog entries in a more objective manner, paying attention to factuality.
Rationale: The KWL charts and surveys and blog post will allow the teacher to assess the students understanding and comprehension of the novel after reading it, and will also provide a context of previous knowledge of color, theme, and representation for lessons later in the unit. The teacher can then edit assignments and classes to the students' general and specific knowledge bases. The blog posts, as a summative assessment, will allow the teacher to grade for growing content comprehension, linguistic and writing skills, and enhanced application of the subject matter.
Standard 7 - Planning Instruction. The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Content Knowledge:
(See Content Notes)
MLR or CCSS: Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: 9 & 10
Domain: Reading - Literature
Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Facet: Students will be able to relate the themes of the novel to their own world.
Standard 8 - Instructional Strategies. The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
MI Strategies:
Verbal: The entire lesson makes way for class discussion, from Circle the Sage to seminars, and the students will also write in their blogs.
Logic: Circle the Sage will allow all students to think analytically about the themes of The Great Gatsby and build and cement their understandings of the themes.
Visual: We'll look closely at scenes in the 1974 film representation of The Great Gatsby.
Musical: Part of the pre-assessment includes looking at the music (jazz, blues, etc.) of the Roaring Twenties.
Kinesthetic: Circle the Sage will be a physical activity, students expressing their concerns by moving to a specific area in the class. They will also use post-its to write down their opinions and questions.
Intrapersonal: The blog will allow the students to privately investigate the lessons and their thoughts to come to personal conclusions.
Interpersonal: The class will constantly incorporate discussions and seminar qualities.
Naturalist: Part of the lesson will be looking how the geography of the novel - NYC, the Eggs, the Ash Heaps - influences the themes.
Type II Technology:
blogger.com
Rationale: Every student needs to be accounted for, and this lesson and unit is no exception. All students and their many intelligences will be accounted for, with students having the constant choice to present the information in their blogs in any format they wish.
NETS STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS
1. Facilitates and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.
a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments
Rationale: The entire lesson will require students to think abstractly on the material and understand the content. The best way to do this is through fun. Students will have the opportunity to create their own unique representations information they learned by responding to Quick Writes, and have the ability to write any comments or concerns they have. Student interaction will also be fostered, students having the ability to work with others to discuss ideas and come to conclusions.
2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS-S.
a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
Rationale: The lesson will utilize the online service Blogger to enhance their learning and incorporate the internet into the content. Students will be expected, as the teacher is as well, to comment on other students’ blogs, respond to comments on their own blogs, and create a dialogue between their blogs.